are you a us citizen? if so--is no need for clearing out of usa for sailing to ensenada.
if you are canadian or other nationality , then i am not sure of the procedure.
do you have a debit card for your bank-- that works in ensenada. so does cash. they love cash.
the dollar is worth 13.4 pesos today.
i didnt pay to have boat entry--that is done with temporary importpermit, can get it then or later. if you stay in mexico you will need it. if you are just passing thru you do not need it. you have 6 months .
you will need liability insurance for mexico-- they will allow you to get it in ensenada.
you will need conapesca fishinglicense if you have ANY kind of fishinggear, inclusive of fish line--monofilament.
when do you leave san pedro???
smooth sailing-- be safe. check your weather an dhave fun.

Zee, others,
We're Canadian, but our boat is licenced with Calif. State, using a friend's address in L.A. . So the Mex customs & immigration in Ensenada won't be looking for a clearance from U.S.? We won't be returning to the U.S., heading to Philippines. I've driven across to Ensenada, numerous times, when visiting California & never was a concern, but that was only for Baja. I just don't want to arrive in Ensenada to be told that I have to post a bond of several thousand. I'm trying to carry as little $ as possible & we have pension payments direct deposited into 2 of our accts each month that I planned to use, without messing with our savings. So we have 6 months to get the importpermit? That makes things easier! I expect we'll pull out of San Pedro area around 15th - weather permitting - trying to stay ahead of the Baja-ha-has. We'll be gearing up for lots of time on the hook, as we want to experience as much of the SofC as possible, before heading west, end of March. A few nights at marinas here & there, when replenishing, boat hauling, for Christmas, & when I have to fly back to Canada to deal with doctors & lawyers (ugh), but much hook & fishing time. Where do we get the fishing license in Ensenada? All I know there are bars, restaurants & a place to buy cheap, excellent hammocks!

conapesca is in the port cpt building. all is one place now. insurance is across from botes juanitos.
where will you dock in ensenada.
the most convenient places for checking in are at the malecon. also most quaint and closest to 3 fish tacos for 2 dollars.....the 3 most expensive marinas and the o nly ones with facilities are baja naval, cruiseport and coral. coral is out of the way and far from malecon.
i like the lil tiny quaint places. the big black schooner patricia belle usually on bandidos docks. because of who they are they are ok there. but i dont recommend bandidos to anyone else. before my writing about noche de los bandidos, that was the marina wherein boats were stripped as you slept--i hope that my writing an djuan lu's complaint to port cpt helped.
ensenada marina is decent and so is botes juanitos. they are quaint and cheap.
i dont know the rules for canuckistanians with lost angels connexions....LOL you are complicated, but i think is no bond for boat. and i KNOW ye dont have to get tip immediately.
wanna save dough, go to botes juanitos. good folks, good security, and friends of me.

Your experience may vary. On the east coast of Mexico this year, liability insurance and fishing permit were not required, but an immediate TIP was. They also required a zarpe from your last US port. I go down to the Baja this year, and I think I'll try checking in in Cedros, where they may be less used to ripping yachties off.

Your experience may vary. On the east coast of Mexico this year, liability insurance and fishing permit were not required, but an immediate TIP was. They also required a zarpe from your last US port.

that isnot how it is in ensenada. is uniform on west coast. i always keep- my last fuel bill, as usa doesnt isssue zarpes. is mexican checkout item, and required for every exit clearance for next port check in. is important to check out of port before leaving. you have 48 hours to leave after checking out. checking out gives the zarpe. es no sudar.
liability ins is supposedly required for all of mexico, per the government agent with whom i spoke. and tip is done within 6 months of arrival if you are staying, as is fm3.
i would NOT fish in mexico without conapesca fishing license, as is considered poaching. poaching is punished by time in prison. conapesca is a federal agancy. has nothing to do with which side of the mainland you come to. it also has nothing to do with check in=has to do with being boarded by mexican navy while fishing in mexican waters and preservation of mexican fisheries.

Your experience may vary. On the east coast of Mexico this year, liability insurance and fishing permit were not required, but an immediate TIP was. They also required a zarpe from your last US port. I go down to the Baja this year, and I think I'll try checking in in Cedros, where they may be less used to ripping yachties off.

Baja Cali. is run almost like its another country and Baja Sur seems to be another when it comes to certain things...I have been told different and contrary things depending on where Ive crossed...There is no one size fits all when dealing with the Mex Gov. Sort of like Texas.. a country within a country..DVC

so far my entering has been easy in each port i entered. is likem exico on the west coast--including so far to maz, is trying to get with some kind of uniformity. would be nice to know in each o]=port is same-but isnt quite.....but i have yet to find lack of attempt to homogenize the entry process and exit process.
i still have to try east mexico-- some places i want to visit there, but not too many.

so far my entering has been easy in each port i entered. is likem exico on the west coast--including so far to maz, is trying to get with some kind of uniformity. would be nice to know in each o]=port is same-but isnt quite.....but i have yet to find lack of attempt to homogenize the entry process and exit process.
i still have to try east mexico-- some places i want to visit there, but not too many.

Pachuca(?) is nice..lots of cool indian stuff and you can still find Obsetian(?) lying around,,its very poor thou..

obsidian is lovely. saw some between tortuga bahia and bahia asuncion a long time ago--my son is part apache--he sent me an apache tears piece--in the rough--awesome. each one is different and has a different character to it. awesome stuff.
the stix of mexico are wonderful to visit.

Few questions:
1) Am I understanding correctly that I do not have to pay a bond for my boat when I arrive in Ensenada, from L.A.?
2) I don't use credit cards - never have - does this make a difference to the answer for ques. 1 ?
3) I understand that I have to clear out of L.A. when I leave, yes? Do I do that at the San Pedro offices? (boat in L.A. Harbor)

Your boat does not require a bond. If you are in country for over six months, you will have to get a Temporary Import Permit (which is about $48 now), good for ten years, allows you to keep your boat in Mexico for longer than six months and to leave it in Mexico for your occasional out-of-Mexico travel. (This is a customs thing - they want to know if you intend to take the boat out of Mexico some day.)
For "2" - don't need a credit card and I wouldn't use one either - never quite know where the number gets to...
As Canadians I don't know what you need to do about clearing out of Los Angeles - you will have to ask your consulate and/or the US State Dept. Your boat seems to be registered with California state - no problem there for visit or import to Mexico (from customs aka Aduana). For you, another matter (from Migracion) But don't get too worried - they see a lot of Canadians...

Thanks for all of the sound opinions & advice! Michael, I worry everytime I cross that border, have made many trips into Baja, never a problem, but never brought a boat there before. I'm not worried about the passports, etc., just whether I'm not showing enough money for the 6 month visa I want. I want to appear poor, but not too poor.

I'll probably get the TIP, because I'll be taking a couple of flights to/from Vancouver. I suppose I could always give them my wife as collateral, right?

One of the great advantages of the new PAN party (Calderon, etc) is the new professional civil service - well, at least they are trying - so a six month visa costs now what a six month visa costs - about 250 pesos, mas o minus - and that is what you will owe - per person - if you plan on staying in Ensenada for more than three days. Tip - when you get the visa, get it for 180 days - no extra cost - and then you can use it for multiple entry/exit for six months w/o having to renew. No income test for a six month tourist visa...

Michael

Another consequence of a professional civil service - they no longer takes wives as collateral - darn...

that isnot how it is in ensenada. is uniform on west coast. i always keep- my last fuel bill, as usa doesnt isssue zarpes. is mexican checkout item, and required for every exit clearance for next port check in. is important to check out of port before leaving. you have 48 hours to leave after checking out. checking out gives the zarpe. es no sudar.
liability ins is supposedly required for all of mexico, per the government agent with whom i spoke. and tip is done within 6 months of arrival if you are staying, as is fm3.
i would NOT fish in mexico without conapesca fishing license, as is considered poaching. poaching is punished by time in prison. conapesca is a federal agancy. has nothing to do with which side of the mainland you come to. it also has nothing to do with check in=has to do with being boarded by mexican navy while fishing in mexican waters and preservation of mexican fisheries.

Have you heard of anyone besides sportfishing boats being busted recently for lack of a fishing license??

A Zarpe is the common term used in all the Americas for an exit clearance. The US customs will issue a 'courtesy clearance' to American vessels if asked.

You now have really confused me about checking out--my understanding of the new Mexican regulations is that you do NOT need a written clearance for checking out of a Mexican port if you are going to another Mexican port. On the east coast, a VHF call to the port captain coming and arriving was sufficient, but unless you were speaking Spanish it was ignored. What's the current state practice in Baja and/or the Western Mainland for domestic voyages??

Have you heard of anyone besides sportfishing boats being busted for not having a fishing license lately??

in mexico you MUST check out of each port before entering a new one . ther eis a special paper that is given to facilitate this. that paper is the zarpe for checking into domestic ports within mexico. is easy. must be done.
yes, others than sportfishers HAVE been busted for no license. penalty is loss of freedom and boat to poaching. you do |Not want this to happen to you. yes you MAY be boarded by mexican navy and searched for fishing equipment as well as smuggling of drugs, guns and people.
be safe. get the conapesca license and fish freely. is a small price for your freedom.

You now have really confused me about checking out--my understanding of the new Mexican regulations is that you do NOT need a written clearance for checking out of a Mexican port if you are going to another Mexican port. On the east coast, a VHF call to the port captain coming and arriving was sufficient, but unless you were speaking Spanish it was ignored. What's the current state practice in Baja and/or the Western Mainland for domestic voyages??

Some places - like La Paz - do not issue or sign written clearances, and the other port captains have just learned to live with it. Some ports do require a written clearance - at least when leaving - the change in law is that there is longer a fee involved with this. (The word on the street was that port captains lost all interest in tracking recreational boats when money was no longer involved.)
In the past, if you got stopped on the "High Seas" by the Navy, they were interested in ship's documents, guns, and drugs. If you were stopped by the Park Service, they were interested in your park permits. The fishing agency didn't have any boats, so they couldn't stop you at sea, only at land, and the other agencies would not enforce their laws for them. Things may have changed now - definitely one change is a license for the boat is no longer required - and the annual personal fishing fee is small enough and some of it goes towards a good cause of fish monitoring and habitat maintenance so I recommend going ahead and paying it anyway.